Have the finasteride in my hand. Now Im scared to take it.

[KO1]

There is really no reason to be taking hormone tests that frequently. It is neither necessary nor beneficial to take hormone panels beforehand either. Just an American addiction to overtesting.

I took it for 6 months, did nothing for me. Glad I stopped taking them as god knows what damage they do.

That's because you were mistakenly expecting it to grow hair. It takes up to a year or even longer to see effects, and the most common effect is slowing down of hair loss.

You don't know how the drug works, you're the last person who should be giving advice.

[Breaking Bald]

There is really no reason to be taking hormone tests that frequently. It is neither necessary nor beneficial to take hormone panels beforehand either. Just an American addiction to overtesting.

Wrong, it's just wise and common sense to get hormone tests done before and during/after treatment of fin.

[Jcm800]

hi jc yes i am in a way as my gp new about my hair loss worries and was lucky he supported me as i did have a slight leakage problem after urinating but as said was on proscar which i either cut in half and took every other day od cut in fours.
I was on dutas a while ago and found that 0.5mgs a day helped me better in the hair loss battle as you may in my other post im on a trial of kevins regrime and only into week three of the topical and orals.

How old are you doke, I'm a youthful 44 but, I have issues at night - I never sleep well, and always need a pee at least once if not twice. One reason I've held back from trying Finasteride is because I'm starting to think I may have prostate age related concerns, if i see my GP I'm kinda wondering if I could kill two birds with one stone and suggest dutasteride to him, he may be willing, but not sure I'd want to take it..

[KO1]

Wrong, it's just wise and common sense to get hormone tests done before and during/after treatment of fin.

Really? What is "common sense" about it given that it has never been recommended by people who know a lot about the drug?

What will hormone tests tell you?

[Breaking Bald]

Really? What is "common sense" about it given that it has never been recommended by people who know a lot about the drug?

What will hormone tests tell you?

It's pretty obvious really, they will test the base line stats of your Testosterone, Free T, DHT,, LH, FSH, Estradiol, Estrogen etc levels before taking fin. 6 months later get them checked again and you can see if DHT is being suppressed efficiently and if your hormones are being put out of balance dangerously. So if you end up getting nasty sides, medical professionals can evaluate your before and current stats so that they can establish how to treat you more effectively.

And what are you talking about, people always recommend it, it's pretty straight forward

[KO1]

It's pretty obvious really, they will test the base line stats of your Testosterone, Free T, DHT,, LH, FSH, Estradiol, Estrogen etc levels before taking fin. 6 months later get them checked again and you can see if DHT is being suppressed efficiently and if your hormones are being put out of balance dangerously. So if you end up getting nasty sides, medical professionals can evaluate your before and current stats so that they can establish how to treat you more effectively.

And what are you talking about, people always recommend it, it's pretty straight forward

No, people don't always recommend it, nor has it ever been recommended by the literature. Unless of course you get your prescriptions from Dr. Broscience.

OK, we know what happens to all of these hormones on the drug, and the response is very predictable. Secondly, what is the therapeutic value of the reading? What does it mean to have "hormones out of balance"? If T only rises by 8% instead of 10% then what? What if DHT is only suppressed by 50% and not 70%, what conclusion can you possibly draw?

Finally, how do you know that "sides" are going to be caused by these differing hormone levels, and at which hormone level do you get sides? Where is the trigger point?

Just an addiction to overtesting.

The only reason I can think of getting a hormone panel done is if you feel you have an abnormal condition PRIOR to taking finasteride.

[Breaking Bald]

I know how much you love to argue KO1 so I'm not gonna go there, I just came to this thread to make that point. If you are going to take propecia get some bloodwork done before hand, in no way is it a bad idea, what can it hurt? For the sake of small cost it's just wise. Good day sir

[doke]

don't take it! Finasteride is a stone age treatment sold by evil corporations to turn men into sterile drug mules with boobs!!!

You will lose your penis, you will lose your brain. Then you will become gay. Unless you were already gay, in which case you'll become straight.

warning troll alert

[Breaking Bald]

Just another point to add, by getting your DHT levels checked it can help you to determine what dosage of fin to take. If your DHT levels are low then you can pretty much guarantee that a large dose of fin is a BAD idea, if DHT levels are high then you will likely be able to tolerate a higher dose.

Good show on it from a while ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JwtHM5jHpI

[KO1]

How would you determine the correct dosage for someone with low DHT? If you have normal T levels and very low DHT....that would imply some sort of deficiency in 5AR......

Btw...why is it a bad idea to inhibit DHT if you have low DHT? Keep in mind that fin is not a DHT inhibitor, but a selective 5AR2 inhibitor.

If you want to do a hormone panel, go for it, but I don't think it will tell you very much if your baseline readings are normal, if they are not, then you have another issue that needs to be treated.